


quality sibling bonding time for two (2) stabby brothers

by Astronomical_Aphrodite



Series: maybe by next January [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: BAMF Number Five | The Boy, Gen, Good Sibling Diego Hargreeves, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21884431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astronomical_Aphrodite/pseuds/Astronomical_Aphrodite
Summary: Despite the Hargreeves family being Dysfunctional™, they aren’t all opposed to being in each other’s presence. Diego and Five haven’t seen each other in decades, but there’s no better time for bonding than with the apocalypse approaching.—Can be read as a stand-alone, although I encourage you to read the main story! Takes place in the middle of Chapter 2 of ‘new year, new me’.
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & Diego Hargreeves
Series: maybe by next January [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576477
Comments: 4
Kudos: 132





	quality sibling bonding time for two (2) stabby brothers

Flipping Luther off, Diego allowed himself to make his escape, running up the stairs before anyone could catch up to him and immediately heading towards the staircase that would take him towards their bedrooms. Entering his room, he closed the door behind himself, relaxing for the first time in hours.

As happy as he was to have Five back, the fifty eight year old was just as overconfident and zealous as he was before he’d left, and Diego didn’t have the emotional stamina for Luther’s typical bullshit. Vanya was still grating to be around, although he felt himself warming to her presence against his will. Klaus was startlingly subdued, although he still had his flair for the dramatic, and if they found themselves alone together, he figured that he should ask him about how he was doing. Allison was tolerable, although they never had been particularly close, but he remembered reading magazines about her divorce and custody battle and knew she was going through some tough shit. Despite the fact that Ben was still dead, Klaus was getting sober, and he wondered if he could ask him if Ben’s ghost would be attending their father’s funeral. He knew it was wishful thinking, but he liked to imagine that Ben watched over all of them from beyond the grave.

Detoxing from being around his estranged family was a relief. Unfortunately, his blissful peace was interrupted when Five teleported into his bedroom having taken a power stance, arms folded across his chest and jaw set, he nearly stabbed his younger but older brother. Mouth twisted into a frown, he was too serious for his apparent age. His appearance was off, like he had lines on his face where there shouldn’t be, and his shoulders were a bit too straight. He was in the uncanny valley, subtly off-putting.

“You scared the shit out of me,” he snapped, bending down to pull his stylized briefcase of knives out from underneath his bed. Down the hall, he could hear Vanya playing something on her violin. Luther’s footsteps as he walked through the hallway were easily distinguishable by the heavy thud that they made every time they connected with the ground.

“I only wanted to ask you about dad’s death,” Five explained, and Diego rolled his eyes, although his heart skipped a beat. He knew that their mother hadn’t done it, despite the monocle he found in her possession, and he would lie to keep her defense from wavering. Opening up the case, he removed several butterfly knives, turning and throwing one at the four-ringed dartboard he kept on his door. Although Reginald had been a rotten man and a horrible father, he was glad that the man was rich enough to allow them to decorate their bedrooms as they liked. It was the only place that had felt like it belonged to him when he was little.

It struck the middle of the target with a satisfying noise, and his brother nodded, chewing on his bottom lip. After extending his slim hand, Diego passed him one, expecting him to hit the target, but not necessarily get a good result. Five tossed the knife, and he was surprised when it landed just off center. The boy gave him a smirk, sitting at his desk and folding his hands across his lap, and Diego whistled slowly, shaking his head. “That was pretty damn impressive for someone without training,” Diego said, “seeing as Reginald only had you trained in melee combat.”

His brother scoffed. “Don’t tell the others just yet,” Five warned, crossing his legs, “but after several decades spent surviving after the apocalypse, I joined an organization of time travelers, and ranged combat training was part of the education I received.” Smiling wistfully, he leaned his chin on his fist. “It wasn’t my true passion,” he confessed, “but I was the best goddamn corrections agent they had.”

“Wait,” Diego said, “so if you were a part of a time traveling group, could you have just come back at any time?” Pulling the butterfly knife out of the dartboard, he backed up, unsheathing another. Placing them between his fingers, he tossed them with a flick of his wrist, and they both found their place in the center of the target. “Why would you not return, all these twenty years?”

“They monitor use of their time machines,” Five explained, “so if I had, they would’ve been after my ass immediately.” Standing up, he removed the knives himself, tossing them one after the other. Although the first missed its target, landing in the ring just outside the middle, the second hit the outer rim of the center with a thud. “I had to wait until I could get back on my own,” he continued, “so that I could have extra time to recuperate before they started to pursue me.”

“So coming after you,” Diego said, “could they attack the house?” With a third knife, he tossed it with true aim, landing it exactly where Five had tossed hi and sending the other weapon clattering to the floor. Five looked impressed, and it made him preen, although his throwing skills were long established to be unmatched. Maybe if the floor mopping gig at the gym hadn’t panned out, he could’ve joined a circus to pay the bills. “I don’t want your being here to put anyone in danger,” he said. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want Five there, and while their siblings could defend themselves, both mom and Pogo wouldn’t be able to in an emergency.

“It’s unlikely that they’ll be able to track me down,” Five explained, and he nodded. In that case, it was fine if he stayed, although it would be awful if it turned out Five had a tracker or some shit like that implanted in him. “I ensured that my disappearance was untraceable.”

“Good,” Diego said.

They exchanged throws in silence for a while, quietly spending time in each other’s company while taking out their aggression on a poor, pick-marked dartboard. After a particularly impressive throw where Diego set the three knives in a horizontal line, Five pulled them from the wall, and, after taking one in hand and setting two down on his bed, he threw the remaining weapon, its metal glinting in the afternoon light. “So,” he said, “I assume you had the autopsy report?”

“Heart attack,” Diego said, “although I’m sure you already knew that.” It was his turn, and he tossed the two knives again, this time landing them on either side of the butterfly knife that Five had tossed. “The house was secure,” he continued, “and there was no sign of forced entry. Pogo says that there weren’t any visitors that day, and that our father had been keeping to himself.”

“In short,” Five said, “the old man really did just kick the bucket, then?”

“Affirmative,” Diego confirmed.

Five stared at the dartboard, then walked up, patting him on the shoulder. It felt almost condescending, as if he was the one of them who looked like a thirteen year old. “Nice talk,” he said, and Diego smiled.

“First time we’ve spent time together in decades,” he pointed out. Five’s expression turned melancholic, and he could almost see the regret in his eyes. Their brother had never been quite sociopathic, but it was odd to see emotions besides confidence, bitterness, and anger in his eyes. “You’re a good throw,” he said, and Five nodded in agreement.

“I’m good at everything,” he said with a snippy voice, and Diego barked a laugh. There was the braggart he knew and loved. “Now if you’ll excuse me,” he said, “I have business to attend to.”

With that cryptic message, he teleported away, and Diego was left to mull over their conversation.

**Author's Note:**

> I was tempted to write it, so I did. It’s 1:51 in the morning as I’m posting this, but nevertheless, I have no regrets. Winter break has started up, so I can sleep in tomorrow. Be expecting more side stories for this story, especially ones revolving around characters other than Klaus, because we need more fanfics from the perspective of the other characters (namely Diego and Allison) in the fandom. As always, I love y’all! Make it your goal to do something for yourself in the next couple of days, because self-care is important. Happy Holidays, and enjoy the new year!


End file.
